Positive Customer Service Thread

[ken0042]

I know we had an old thread from 2007. Rather than bumping that one I decided that we should have one that is fresh. This thread is for positive customer service experiences. So many times we settle for mediocre service, that when we see something good it almost takes us by surprise.

My recent experience was with Rampage City Paintball. My son wanted to do paintball for his birthday party, and Rampage City has an indoor facility which was fairly close to us. (This was last week, so outdoor paintball would have sucked.

The people were super. I had never gone paintballing before, so they were happy to suggest what we needed. They also gave me a suggestion about how to ration the paintballs so they would last. When the boys were getting suited up the one guy noticed one of the kids going for an XL set of coveralls. He immediately went in and helped the boys out.

The paintball arena is just that- an old hockey arena. The boards are still up and you can see the scoreboard in the corner. They did a good job of the layout.

What really impressed me was this. After a few rounds one of the boys was tired of getting hit- he was done. Now that left just 3; which is too uneven. (At that point my our group was the only one there.) I went and asked the guy how much to just rent the equipment as we had a lot of paintballs left. I was told "don't worry about it- get suited up and go in."

He could have just as easily told me that it was $20 or $30; and added that to the $150 we had already spent. Instead they went to make sure we all had a positive experience. We will be back, and come spring we will also be sure to try out one of their outdoor locations.

[undercoverbrother]

I love reading good reviews.

Make sure to tell Rampage. So often we only complain. I love getting positive reviews about my staff. When I have a good experience I always try to report it to that person's supervisor.

[Hatter]

I agree with OP. I used to be pretty big into paintball, and the guys at rampage were top notch the few times I played in Calgary.

[Old Yeller]

Echoing what undercover says... a lot of the big stores have incentive programs for employees to provide better customer service.

I was in a home depot and some young kid came up to help me, and because I was probably almost twice his age my first internal reaction was "ugh, yeah you can go get me someone who knows what the hell they're talking about". But I gave him a fair shake and he was awesome... so awesome that I remembered his name and called his supervisor when I got home.

A couple of days later I needed to go back and saw him again and he mentioned that they get points towards rewards for prizes so I was happy I could partly repay the help he gave me.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Old Yeller

Echoing what undercover says... a lot of the big stores have incentive programs for employees to provide better customer service.

I was in a home depot and some young kid came up to help me, and because I was probably almost twice his age my first internal reaction was "ugh, yeah you can go get me someone who knows what the hell they're talking about". But I gave him a fair shake and he was awesome... so awesome that I remembered his name and called his supervisor when I got home.

A couple of days later I needed to go back and saw him again and he mentioned that they get points towards rewards for prizes so I was happy I could partly repay the help he gave me.

And all it cost you was a few minutes of your day.

[FlamesAllTheWay]

Might as well throw this in here... Every time I go to the Shephard Landfill in SE Calgary the people that work there are so friendly and helpful. Always cheerful and asking how your day is going and pointing you in the right direction.

Last time I was there the I was just hauling in one of those old Sony block TV's. I had to dismantle it to get it out of my basement so it was in a few different parts, only one of which actually had any electrical components. I was trying to explain to the guy at the gate that only that one part probably went to the TV recycle area while the rest was just garbage. However he insisted it all be considered a TV because it's then free or else I'd probably be looking at a hefty fee if the other components were considered garbage.

Figured the overall service there deserved some recognition!

[rayne008]

Originally Posted by FlamesAllTheWay

Might as well throw this in here... Every time I go to the Shephard Landfill in SE Calgary the people that work there are so friendly and helpful. Always cheerful and asking how your day is going and pointing you in the right direction.

Last time I was there the I was just hauling in one of those old Sony block TV's. I had to dismantle it to get it out of my basement so it was in a few different parts, only one of which actually had any electrical components. I was trying to explain to the guy at the gate that only that one part probably went to the TV recycle area while the rest was just garbage. However he insisted it all be considered a TV because it's then free or else I'd probably be looking at a hefty fee if the other components were considered garbage.

Figured the overall service there deserved some recognition!

I'd second this, as last year i dropped of approx 100 half empty old paint cans. The older worker helped me unload and BS'ed with me, saving me a ton of time.

[Minnie]

Originally Posted by Old Yeller

I was in a home depot and some young kid came up to help me, and because I was probably almost twice his age my first internal reaction was "ugh, yeah you can go get me someone who knows what the hell they're talking about". But I gave him a fair shake and he was awesome... so awesome that I remembered his name and called his supervisor when I got home.

.

I just want to say thanks, as a mother of a 'young kid' who works in a similar type of store. He is often discounted because of his age, but he knows his stuff. And thank you for phoning this young guy's supervisor to let them know how awesome he was. Not very many people do that.

[ben voyonsdonc]

I know this will be surprising but I've had some really great customer service experiences with Air Canada.

Here is my favourite:
Last year, I was in Toronto for work but was going to be flying down to the United States to visit my mom. I stayed in three different hotels in three areas in and around Toronto and I must have dropped my passport in one of them. I didn't know that I had lost my passport until I was at Pearson Airport about to check in and couldn't find it anywhere. I was panicked.

I went to the customer service desk at the airport and the lady who was working there was wonderful. She told me the words that I really needed to hear. The words were "It's ok. We've seen this happen before and we are going to get you to the United States to visit your mom." She then proceeded to give me the address and business hours of the local passport office and a phone number to call to tell me what I needed to get a replacement passport. She also assured me that there is an emergency passport that I could apply for. Then she booked me for a flight the next day and didn't charge me any difference in fees.

I was so thankful that someone was willing to offer me some perspective and some guidance in a situation that was pretty stressful. I ended up getting a new replacement passport the next day and made it to my flight and arrived at my Mom's place the next day.

[pylon]

If you want bad customer service, in the bad is good way, go to Burger Inn on Macleod. That guy that has been behind the counter there for the last 10 years or so is a beaut. In his 2 pack a day voice, "So whadya want on dis thing?" "Ya havin somethin to drink?" I am sure some of you here have been served by him.

[socktape]

Originally Posted by pylon

If you want bad customer service, in the bad is good way, go to Burger Inn on Macleod. That guy that has been behind the counter there for the last 10 years or so is a beaut. In his 2 pack a day voice, "So whadya want on dis thing?" "Ya havin somethin to drink?" I am sure some of you here have been served by him.

absolutely! I thought I was in trouble with my two kids trying to figure out what they wanted. It almost felt like I was in front of the soup nazi.

[wooohooo]

I find Home Depot has really good service. I was installing tiles for the first time and was just checking out the tiles. A younger guy comes up to me and gives me some advice on grout, how to mix it properly... the whole thing. Anyways, I always come back every so often and he always talks to me and asks how the project is going and things I need. A few years later I went in and saw him, didn't think he would remember me but asked me how the tiles looked and how everything was going and what other projects I was doing.

[Tron_fdc]

2 enthusiastic thumbs up for Mountain Equipment Coop.

I bought a set of climbing skins from them last spring, and never got a chance to use them. Had a look at them a month or so ago, and realized they were the wrong size for my split (too long).

Walked into MEC with no receipt, no bag, nothing. It actually may have looked like I just grabbed them off the shelf and walked up to the exchange counter.

Buddy at the counter tried to look up my account for the sale history (couldn't find it for some reason), checked to see if all the pieces were in the box (they were), and then issued me a gift card at full retail to get a new set of skins. No hassles whatsoever, when I was expecting to get laughed at.

I also had a buddy who bought a Patagonia coat from them for full price that went on sale 10 days later for half price. Same thing; he went in to see if they would do something (never hurts to ask) and he got a full credit on the difference, when he was expecting to get turned away.

I really have nothing bad to say about that place at all.....except that they charge for parking and charge for a "membership". Not a big deal though.

[The Big Thirsty]

Recently my wife completely re-did our living room over Christmas. Bought a new couch, love seat, and two recliners from Laz-Y-Boy. We noticed one of the pieces had some discolouration of the leather. It was noticeable (especially if you had just shelled out the dollar I had to buy it), but I probably could have lived with it. Called the stores on the 1st of January to tell them. They said customer service was closed to the 4th, but they'd call me back at that time. Received a call on the 4th asking when they could come out to the house and look at it. I said whenever they wanted, and they said " How about in 30 minutes". Came right out to the house, made a slight repair to what they called " Shipping Rub". I was highly impressed.

[undercoverbrother]

I will also shout out, again, to the Alberta Childern's Hospital.

We got great service there this past week.

[psyang]

This happened about a year ago at the theatres at Cross Iron Mills.

It was the first time I reserved seats online for an AVX movie. Printed out the tickets, and went with my wife on a date night. About a minute into the movie, I see an usher coming down our row with a penlight checking everyone's tickets. When he saw ours, he said "That's the problem. You are booked for a different theatre". My wife and I were ushered out, and that's when I saw that the tickets I booked were for some theatre in Vancouver.

I was extremely apologetic (and embarrassed!), but the theatre manager simply said, "I know you made an honest mistake, here's what I'll do. I'll give you free passes to any future AVX showing, and since it's a date night, I'll give you free passes to any other movie we are playing tonight so you can still enjoy the evening". I was speechless. I thought afterwards "So this is what good service feels like"

[polak]

This is from a little while back but it really shocked me so I might as well share.

A couple years ago me and a few friends were at Vynil nightclub for a birthday and one of the people that were there for the birthday but weren't friends with anyone else in our group started calling one of my friends fat, over and over again throughout the night. Obviously, this eventually led to a confrontation but before anything could take off the bouncers were on us and kicked us out.

When I explained the situation to the bouncer he was very nice about the whole thing and even apologized for grabbing me. As we were trying to flag down a cab he had to over hear me complaining about needing some water cause he went in and got me a full unopened bottle of water from the bar for free and even got us a cab that had just pulled up as we were about to leave to go looking for one on another street.

Thought I'd share as you almost never hear anything good about bouncers.

[Knut]

1) Bondars : We bought a new dining table and couch. Had great service, did not have to price shop (they new the prices everywhere else and were accurate about it) and treated us well. They remembered us from when we bought a bedroom set 2.5 years ago and rewarded us for returning with an additional discount.

2) Smugglers INN: this place had taken a bit of a downturn in recent years and we were hesitant to go back again. The hostess was great in her recommendation of a place in the restaurant that is good for an 18month. In a quiet corner with lots of room where sound was limited (so our kid did not bother anyone). The waiter was very helpful and made the experience great. Food quality went up a notch too from the last few times we were there.

[squiggs96]

I buy almost all of my golf apparel from fairwaystyles.com. On one order they sent me a white hat instead of the orange one I ordered. I called them when my package arrived and they said to keep the white hat and they'll also send me the orange one as well.

I bought a pair of shoes from them last February. While golfing in December my left foot was a little wet. I looked at the bottom and there was a giant crack running side to side. I emailed them the problem and they emailed back the next day, apologizing and asking for a picture. Once I sent in the picture they apologized some more and gave me a full refund. They wanted to send me the same shoes, but the style I bought was a limited edition and there weren't any more. They gave me an online gift card, per my request, as I'll continue to buy from them each time.

I also really like Robert Talbott. Their website doesn't allow purchases to be made from non-U.S. based credit cards. I emailed them as I wanted to buy some bow ties. I received an email the next day saying they could take the order directly from a store, and they would call me shortly. John Fulmer in New York took my order and mailed out my ties. They arrived in time for Christmas and he included a personalized, hand written card. They will be my first stop the next time I am looking for more ties.

[Knut]

Originally Posted by fotze

I've found Brava Bistro is really good for kids. They have high chairs, toys and its a loud place so a screaming kid would not even be noticed. Sat us near the back by the kitchen, kids could watch the buzz and would stay seated.

That and Famoso pizza on 4th st SW. They were really kid friendly. It is nice to find these fancier places so you do not feel like you need to go to BPs etc and get a crappy meal just so you feel your kid is not bothering anyone.